Zetterberg is in Detroit's lineup for Game 4 Thursday night, just in time to provide a spark to a Winged Wheel that has been stuck in neutral all series.

By Dan CagenDaily News staff

The Bruins had hoped to avoid the sight of Henrik Zetterberg in their first-round series with the Red Wings.

That won’t be the case, however. Zetterberg is in Detroit’s lineup for Game 4 Thursday night, just in time to provide a spark to a Winged Wheel that has been stuck in neutral all series.

Zetterberg — who scored 48 points in 45 games this season — hasn’t played an NHL game since Feb. 8. He had back surgery Feb. 21. He isn't expected to play more than 10-15 minutes, below his normal output of close to 20.

In net, Jimmy Howard is out with flu-like symptoms. Howard had a 2.02 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in the series. Jonas Gustavsson, who shut down the Bruins on Oct. 14, will make the start. It's Gustavsson's playoff debut.

Gustavsson is playing for the first time since April 9. He went 16-5-4 with a 2.63 GAA and .907 save percentage this season, including a 28-save win over the Bruins in October. Milan Lucic said it was the best he'd ever seen the former Maple Leaf play.

Zetterberg practiced Wednesday and has apparently been given clearance to return. The team said before the playoffs they were targeted a return for the beginning of the second round, but with Detroit having scored two goals in the series and trailing the Bruins 2-1, Zetterberg has made an early return.

He’ll skate as the left wing on the Wings’ top line next to Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader. Joakim Andersson comes out of the lineup. Also, Todd Bertuzzi is in for Tomas Jurco for the Wings.

The Bruins are not making any lineup changes from their Game 3 roster. Andrej Meszaros is a healthy scratch for the second straight game.